“Alice is a
vividly realized protagonist whose complex and harrowing history rivals the
central crime storyline.” – New York Times bestselling author
Sophie Hannah

Jude
Shelley, daughter of a prominent cabinet minister, had her whole life ahead of
her until she was attacked and left to drown in the Thames. Miraculously, she
survived. A year later, her family is now asking psychologist Alice Quentin to
re-examine the case.

But then a
body is found: an elderly priest, attacked in Battersea, washed up at
Westminster Pier. An ancient glass bead is tied to his wrist.

Alice is
certain that Jude and her family are hiding something, but unless she can
persuade them to share what they know, more victims will come.

Because the
Thames has always been a site of sacrifice and death.

And Alice is
about to learn that some people still believe in it…

About the book:

I
was born in South London, the second daughter of two teachers. I went to the
University of Essex and completed a doctorate on the playwright Tennessee
Williams. As soon as I left university I began work as an English teacher and
have taught at universities in Britain and the United States. I am lucky enough
to write full-time now, and live in Cambridge with my husband Dave Pescod,
also a writer. My study has a great view of cows grazing on Stourbridge Common
down to the river Cam, perfect for daydreaming. I am very fond of my three
step-sons, Jack, Matt and Frank, and have recently become step-granny to
Freddie.

My first
books were two collections of poetry, Reversal and The Alice Trap. I was
awarded English Speaking Union and Hawthornden
Fellowships for poetry, and shortlisted the Bridport and Forward Prizes..
CROSSBONES YARD was my first novel and the first in the Alice Quentin series,
followed by A Killing of Angels. Both of these books take place in my
birthplace London, and I love going back there to research and get ideas.

A huge fan of suspense, mystery and thriller
books, I was thrilled to get the chance to read and review The Girl in the River by Kate
Rhodes. I was a little worried
that I would have trouble connecting with the main character, Alice Quentin,
since this is the fourth book in the series, but the author did an excellent
job of developing both her story and Alice’s character and I found myself
eagerly turning the pages to discover what Alice would discover next. If you like psychological thrillers, you will
definitely want to pick up the Alice Quentin series.

A psychologist with a flair for solving
crimes, Alice Quentin is both pleased and annoyed when she receives a request
from the head of the Forensic Psychology Unit of the Metropolitan Police to
review one of their closed cold cases.
Especially when she discovers the victim, Jude Shelley is still alive
and that her family specifically requested her case review. A rich and politically connected family. As
Alice begins her investigation, she realizes her case could be connected to an open
being investigated by a detective she knows.
Will Alice be able to solve the crimes before the killer decides to
claim another victim?

I easily connected with Alice and liked her
approach to both the victim and the possible suspects as she reopened the
case. She easily realized that the
police had botched the original investigation because they were afraid of
antagonizing the politically connected family and did not properly investigate
their backgrounds and alibies. Although physically
a small woman, Alice is very smart and she is tenacious. She lets nothing stand in her way of getting
to the truth, no matter how painful it is for everyone involved, including
her. I really liked that about her and I
liked how she quickly recognized people’s psychological problems. Ms. Rhodes did an excellent job
making Alice likable and realistic.

I also enjoyed watching Alice interact with
the secondary characters, who were also well developed and each contributed something
to the story. While the story is told
from Alice’s point of view, Ms. Rhodes also lets us into the
villain’s point of view, which was quite interesting. I definitely questioned what drove the killer
and what was done to the victims.

Will Alice discover who attacked Jude and if
it is somehow connected to Jude’s family’s politics? Will the detective working the open case be
willing to work with her or get in her way? Will Alice ever manage to have a
personal life while working for the police?
You will have to read The Girl in the River to find out, I really
enjoyed it and will be reading the previous books in preparation for Alice’s
next case.

***FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Publisher as a part of book tour for a fair and honest review which in no way influenced my opinion of the reading material provided.

Release Date August 15, 2017

About Me

Welcome to the Queen of All She Reads Blog. I review all genre of books. Whatever catches my fancy. I either purchase the books or receive the books through a book tour, NetGalley, or the publisher. I do not get paid to review any book.
If you wish to submit your book for review, please see my review policy.
Thank you

Release Date August 22, 2017

Check Out My Stops

Release Date August 22, 2017

Stop Book Piracy In All Forms

Both EBook and Print

Check Out My Stops

Check Out My Stops

Copyright

Reviews, posts and special features are the property of Queen of All She Reads unless otherwise noted. Please don't use them or claim them as your own. The graphics on my site are also the property of Queen of All She Reads, unless provided by a publisher or promotional company for use during a feature.Graphics appearing on the site have been paid for and/or are used with expressed permission from the owner. I do not hold any copyright to any images unless otherwise noted. Please contact me directly if you have any questions about any of the pictures/graphics used on this site.